HS: Fall SIMA FAB 50, Sept. 12

by Sheldon Shealer

September 12, 2017

For the most part, the teams were accurate -- it was the order that needed revisited.

After a week of high school boys soccer loaded with tournaments and key matchups, the Top 25 received a major overhaul, starting at the very top. Conestoga (Pa.) takes over as No. 1 after three impressive wins -- none closer than four goals -- to start the season. The reigning Pennsylvania 4A state champion is first, ahead of St. Benedict's Prep (N.J.) and Bradley-Bourbonnais (Ill.), who remain Nos. 2 and 3, respectively. Archbishop Curley (Md.) and Dublin Coffman (Ohio) round out the Top 5.

No. 6 Delbarton School (N.J.) and former No. 1, now No. 7, Pennington School (N.J.) give the Top 10 a strong New Jersey presence. By the end of September, St. Benedict's, Delbarton and Pennington will sort out who will remain in the running for No. 1 either through head-to-head matches and/or common opponents.

While every team in this week's boys Top 30 was ranked in the SIMA FAB 50 last week, nearly every team made some movement. By contrast, there was almost no change in the girls Top 25 this week.

BIG MOVERS: BOYS: St. Louis University High (St. Louis, Mo.). SLUH ran through a Who's Who of midwest teams to jump from No. 45 to No. 17 this week. SLUH defeated St. Xavier (Ky.), Vianney, Christian Brothers College and DeSmet in a seven-day stretch. ... GIRLS: Issaquah (Wash). Led by the scoring of Mariah Van Halm, Issaquah moves from No. 27 to No. 20 this week.

NEWCOMERS: BOYS: No. 31 Fort Collins (Colo.), No. 33 Christian Brothers Academy (Lincroft, N.J.), No. 34 Brentwood (N.Y.), No. 37 Olentangy Liberty (Powell, Ohio), No. 42 St. Thomas Aquinas (Overland Park, Kan.), No. 43 Elizabethtown (Pa.), No. 44 Heritage (Wake Forest, N.C.), No. 45 Zionsville (Ind.), No. 47 La Salle Academy (Providence, R.I.), No. 48 Central Bucks West (Doylestown, Pa.), No. 49 Livonia Stevenson (Livonia, Mich.) and No. 50 Rock Island (Ill.). ... GIRLS: No. 17 Ridge (Basking Ridge, N.J.), No. 33 Archbishop Spalding (Severn, Md.), No. 35 Pickerington North (Pickerington, Ohio), No. 47 Toms River North (Toms River, N.J.), No. 48 Moon (Pa.), No. 49 La Salle Academy (Providence, R.I.) and No. 50 Westfield (N.J.).